Chains
by AriRashkae
Summary: Long before he came to earth, Raditz wanted things to get interesting. He forgot you should be careful what you wish for.
1. Chapter 1

AN: This is jsut a teaser, while I work on my other fic "Devil you Know." Both this and "Devil" were written quite some time ago, and I am debating finishing them. I sent this snippet to Dragoness Eclectic a while back and she liked it, so I'm posting here for a broader audience. (BTW check out her fics for some nicely written epics!) If I get some nice feedback on this, I may continue it. If you want to know why it's taken so long, check out my homepage. On with the show!

* * *

"My Prince," Nappa rumbled. "What are we doing here?" 

Vegeta didn't even pause as he replied, "Lord Frieza wants some slaves. He thinks his troops could use the … morale boost." His lip curled slightly in disgust.

"I know that, my Prince," Nappa answered. "Why are _we_ here?"

The shorter warrior stopped and looked back at his companions. "Because Frieza wants to see me rant and rave at the indignity of sending the Prince of Saiyans on such an errand, and I won't give him the satisfaction." His tail unfurled from his waist, twitched twice, and curled back in the other direction. It was the only outward sign of his agitation.

Nappa sighed and shook his head. They were warriors, not errand boys. But if his prince was not going to complain, then it was not his place to say anything.

Vegeta glanced over at the third member of his little group. Raditz looked like his Prince felt - completely _bored_. Being low-born and the weakest of the three, Raditz needn't hold himself to such high standards as the other two. He was free to express himself as he saw fit - provided he didn't break anything. Lord Frieza would have been a tad … unhappy if he received a damage bill on top of everything else. Vegeta _was_ haggling with the merchants, but not too much. He didn't want to give his "generous" employer any bona fide reasons to send the three of them on another fool's errand like this.

Vegeta sighed inwardly and started walking again. At least he could take some small pleasure in terrifying the flesh peddlers. Very small.

Raditz lagged behind a little. He _was_ extremely bored, but not enough to miss the irony of the situation. Here he was, young, healthy, and surrounded by beautiful females from hundreds of races, and he wasn't interested in any of them. Oh, it wasn't that he didn't like women; in fact, his appetite for them was almost as great as those for battle and food.

It was just that they were all the same. Granted, the variety of shapes and colors was staggering, but, underneath it all, they were all spiritless and frightened.

_Well, what do you expect to find here? They know that their lives depend on pleasing their masters. Or mistresses,_ he thought, as the crowd surged between him and the others. Immediately, he was glad that Nappa towered over everyone else. It made finding him so much easier. _I swear, if I could find just one with a little fire, I'd —_

He didn't get to finish that thought, as he suddenly found himself soaking wet. He looked down sharply to see a filthy pile of rags and matted brown hair staring up at him in mute horror. Raditz's tail whipped out to wrap around her neck and lift her to her feet.

As her hair fell back, he was shocked at how _Saiyan_ she looked under the dirt. Oh, her hair was brown, maybe, and her eyes were blue, and she didn't have a tail, but her skin, her facial structure … Raditz shook his head slightly. _Bah, I'm losing my mind. There are no Saiyan women left, and I'd definitely never find one _here.

"Aiee, you stupid bitch!" Her owner sprinted up behind her, and snatched her from the warrior's grasp. He knocked her upside the head, once, and she crashed to her stomach on the ground. She pulled herself to her knees, swaying and shivering.

As his tail curled slowly about his waist, Raditz decided he didn't like this man. Not because he hit the girl, since Raditz didn't have a gallant bone in his body, but he saw the calculating look the merchant had given him, and it made his flesh crawl.

His eyes narrowed as the bejeweled feline proceeded to gush with insincere apologies. His tail uncurled completely and swayed rhythmically. Too bad for the other man that he didn't recognize the signs of an increasingly irritated Saiyan, or he would have taken the girl and run.

After the fifth apology, Raditz had had enough. He was bored, hungry, wet, and to top everything off, he'd lost sight of Nappa and Vegeta. He turned to go at this realization when he felt a light touch on his leg.

"Beg pardon, please, master," the girl implored. The words were stilted and mechanical, as if she'd been taught the sounds but not the meaning. Raditz guessed she wasn't worth more than a few credits, and was considering the cost of snapping her neck, when she did something he definitely did not expect.

She_ winked _at him.


	2. Chapter 2

AN: I have most of this first section written out. It's what to do afterwards that's the problem. I have many ideas bouncing around, (especially because there is a sequel to this, set post-Cell saga) but I can't figure out how to get them to work. And I lost my outline. ::pout:: Ah well. I have other fics to finish. Maybe I should put Raditz into a Twisted Short.

Raditz: Hey! No messing with the clothes!

Me: I said Twisted Short, not twisted shorts. As in, the collection of randomness I have. Sheesh.

Raditz: Oh. ::grumbles:: And what's this about a shower scene?

Me: Jerk! You weren't supposed to give that away!

Raditz: Heh.

* * *

- 

Slowly, and hidden from her master by her hair, she winked up at the armored warrior towering over her, and smiled slightly. As her owner glared down at her, her face melted back into the bland, stupid look he'd seen a few moments ago.

Raditz was definitely intrigued. Before the merchant could drag the girl away, he made up his mind. "How much?" he asked quietly.

The Kan'tarran's vertical pupils widened in surprise, and then narrowed as he figured how much he could get from this Saiyan. He had to have heard Frieza had sent "the monkeys" out shopping on a whim. Nearly every merchant they had passed had been making sly comments or staring in amusement. "Oh, you don't want her, my lord," he purred. "She's a weak, stupid thing. Can't even withstand the gravity here without that belt." He gestured to the gleaming metal band around her waist. "I only keep her because I don't want to spare my others for drudge work. Now if you're looking for a fine piece of flesh I —urk!"

Raditz's hand shot out and wrapped around the feline's throat, lifting him up to eye level. "Listen closely, since I'm going to say this once," he said calmly. "I am not," he shook his arm slightly to emphasize the point, "having a good day. I am bored and hungry, and thanks to this little twit I am now drenched and probably filthy. I am seriously considering snapping her neck and walking away, but my mother taught me not to break toys that weren't mine." Raditz smiled then, thoroughly enjoying himself.

The slaver started to shiver. He'd never seen anything as terrifying as this huge warrior. If he'd only known that Raditz was starting to enjoy himself, … "T-ten credits!" he squeaked.

Raditz looked at him pityingly. "If she had any skills worth mentioning, I might think about it. She obviously can't speak Standard, so she's probably as dumb as the dirt she's covered in. I'm beginning to doubt she's anything more than rags and hair, which precludes any physical pleasure I could get from her before I kill her."

"Fi-five credits!" the merchant gasped.

Raditz loosened his grip ever so slightly. His gaze turned thoughtful. "Maybe I'll just snap your neck instead. After all, she is _your_ responsibility, and there's no one around to try and make me pay for you." His grip tightened again.

The Kan'tarran panicked. "Take her! Take her with my blessing!" he shrieked. Abruptly the hand holding him let go and he crashed to the ground, clutching his bruised throat.

The long-haired Saiyan smirked. "I'm not much on blessings, but I'll take her anyway. Chain her. I don't want to have to chase her down before I've had a chance to … enjoy myself."

The feline merchant scrambled to his feet and all but ran into his shop. He emerged a few seconds later with the requested shackles. Quickly, he cuffed the girl's ankles, linking them with three feet of sturdy chain. He snapped similar bands to her wrists, but there was only a foot between them, with an O-ring in the middle. He clipped a long chain to the ring and hauled her to her feet.

Raditz looked down at the pitiful creature before him. The chains were completely unnecessary, physically, but he did admit that they had a profound mental effect on the slaves. Plus, he liked the way they looked.

Wrapping the end of the leash around his left hand, he flipped the slaver a temporary-credit chip. "There's three, for the belt," Raditz said, smirking. He jerked the chain once, and the girl fell into step behind him.


End file.
